Summer Combine Series: Murphy Bulldogs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I've had a chance to tag along with the Team FYN Sports guys as they travel around and test players in the laser 40, 3-Cone and Broad Jump. Their trip this week took me across state lines to my 1st visit to Murphy (NC). The Bulldogs are a perennial powerhouse program in the Western mountains of the State. Below are the players that stood out to me on Monday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Camden Breazeale - 2026 DE/TE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Breazeale is listed at 6'3 185 and had an outstanding day in the metric testing. He finished 3rd on the team in the laser 40 with a 4.70, which puts him in the top 10% of players tested overall. He showed some agility in the 3-cone putting up a 4.47. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The rising Junior has good size and showed he could get it done last year on the field. He recorded 108 TT with 18 TFL last Fall for the Bulldogs, earning 1st Team All SMC Conference and All Western honors as a sophomore. Good athlete in the offseason where he finished in the Top 10 in the 110m hurdles at the State Championships. A player to keep an eye on this Fall, a diamond in the rough high in the Mountains. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://x.com/CamdenBrea59561">Breazeale on Twitter</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brody Orton - 2026 OG/MLB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Orton is another kid with good size and good frame that stood out at the combine. He is listed at 6'3 210 and is a solid built kid from head to toe. He finished in the Top 7 in all 3 events for the Bulldogs and showed good lateral quickness in the 3-Cone for his size. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another rising Junior Bulldog that got it done on the field last Fall. He recorded 105 TT with 6 TFL last season. He was a All SMC Conference selection as a Sophomore. Aggressive tackler with a good football IQ. Has the quickness at the LOS on offensive to pull and get out quick, good blocker. Good upside on this rising Junior. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/MurphyNCFootbal/status/1731754915356168193","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/MurphyNCFootbal/status/1731754915356168193 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='534743' first='Ryan' last='Payne'] - 2026 WR/DB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Payne is another rising Junior for the Bulldogs that stood out at the combine. Payne was the overall "MVP" on the day finishing 1st in the laser 40 (4.67) and 3rd in the 3-Cone (4.47) and had a 4th place Broad Jump at (8'11).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The multisport athlete at Murphy showed good agility and top end speed at the combine and transitioned that to the field last Fall. He was selected to the All SMC Conference team after finishing 2nd on the team last year with 15 receptions and averaging over 21 yards per catch with 4 TDs. He really stood out on the defensive side of the ball recording a team high 5 INTs and recording 44 TT. He is listed at 6'0 160 and runs track and plays basketball in the off season. Another 2026 Bulldog that has good upside potential. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/ryan_payne22/status/1664441060477599744","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ryan_payne22/status/1664441060477599744 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other Notables:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2025 LB Kadence Leatherwood</strong>: When you see Leatherwood you know he is a football player. The 5'9 200 LB won the weight lifting portion of the combine putting up 21 reps. Puts in the work off the field in the weight room and the class room where he sports a 4.0 GPA. Recorded 84 TT with 6 TFL last season for the Bulldogs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2026 QB Brody Grant:</strong> The QB1 for the Bulldogs had a good combine. He put up a great 3-Cone score of 4.31 which puts him in 1st place overall among the 7 schools tested. He recorded a 9'0 broad jump, placing 3rd on the team. He passed for over 1000 yards last season with 15 TDs and had a game high 3 TDs with 205 yards in the playoffs last season vs Mt. Airy. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->